It took two overtime periods and penalty kicks, but for the sixth consecutive year the Greeneville girls soccer captured the Region 1-AA championship. The Lady Devils beat Tennessee High 3-2 on penalty kicks at a frosty Fox Field on Thursday night.
“This probably goes down as one of the toughest contests we’ve had in the region championship. Quality contest, quality team, they’re well-coached and a good group of girls. We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in and knew it was going to be a battle,” Greeneville Coach Jerry Graham stated.
Coach Graham always speaks about how each District/Region Championship has its own identity. The grit and comeback efforts displayed on Thursday night made this one much sweeter in the eyes of the coach.
“Everybody always talks about the numbers and this and that but each one has its own identity. This has been one of the toughest ones we’ve faced against one of the most quality teams in our state. This is one you’re going to remember with a special group of girls,” Coach Graham expressed.
After falling behind early in the 7th minute the Lady Devils had to claw from behind until an equalizer in the 59th minute knotted the score. Their defense held up for the final 93 minutes after allowing the first goal and did not give way after that.
Greeneville’s goalie Lily Evatt was the hero in Thursday night’s championship win. Her clutch efforts in the penalty shootout helped bring the gold back home. With back-to-back blocks Evatt helped Greeneville overcome an early deficit in the shootout and made it easier for her teammates to get things done.
“Lily Evatt played amazing tonight in regulation then came up big in the pens. She made some fantastic saves, not just routine, they were some good saves,” Coach Graham bragged on his keeper.
Evatt might’ve been the hero, but Matea Gray was not far behind. Her equalizer in the 59th minute helped force overtime and her golden goal in the shootout helped seal the win.
“Matea is just one of those kids where her soccer IQ is out the roof on where to be, but her motor is the thing that keeps going,” Graham mentioned.
Greeneville’s win serves as the sixth-straight Region 1-AA Championship and 14th in the last 17 seasons. They will have the privilege to host Saturday’s state sectional against Seymour. The winner advances to next week’s Class AA State Tournament in Chattanooga.
The Lady Vikings made Greeneville fight for everything they earned on Thursday. Aryana Patterson netted a goal in the 7th minute and put Tennessee High in front first. Greeneville knew she was a lethal threat coming into the contest and had her marked, but a defensive lapse allowed her to break free and boot one past Evatt.
“We had a little defensive miscue on my part when we were adjusting. You’ve got to give her credit. We knew coming in she could do damage with the ball at her feet,” Coach Graham mentioned. “We knew she was fast, but I think we may have misjudged how fast she was early on, and she showed us how fast she was.”
Tennessee controlled the first 20 minutes of the first half and kept Greeneville’s defense on their toes. The Lady Devils would start to see the momentum gradually shift in their favor.
Two free kicks in the 16th and 26th minutes couldn’t connect and Gray had two close calls in the 29th and 30th minutes. Gabi Stayton had another opportunity at a free kick in the 33rd minute, but nobody was there to connect on the other end.
The Lady Vikings led 1-0 at the half, but Greeneville went right back on the attack. After trying to tie the game with two close attempts in the first half, Gray finally found the goal she had been looking for with a strike in the 59th minute. Her goal was assisted by Vivian Kammerdiener.
Each team endured very close calls in both 18-yard boxes, but the game would ultimately reach the overtime periods knotted at 1-1. More close calls and great saves by both sets of goalies sent the contest into a penalty shootout.
Tennessee High would kick first and start with a goal. Abby Adkins stepped up first for Greeneville and sailed her kick a little too high and bounced it off the crossbar. Lucky for her, Evatt was there to block Tennessee’s next attempt and set Kammerdiener up with the chance to tie it. She would do just that.
The next kick from each team was saved and the score stayed 1-1 through three kicks. Tennessee High missed their third-straight kick and Gabi Stayton secured Greeneville’s next pen to help them go ahead. The Lady Vikings tied it back up, but the Lady Devils only needed one more to claim the win.
Matea Gray was the one to net the final goal and seal the win for Greeneville and claim the Region 1-2A Championship.
“I just went to her right to her before she kicked and just said take a deep breath and relax. If you miss it, no harm. Just relax. And my gosh if she just didn’t have the confidence to place that thing. Holy cow. People don’t realize the stress of that moment. Your heart feels like it’s going to beat out of your chest,” Coach Graham explained.
Both teams were close to even on the stat sheet. Greeneville outshot Tennessee High 22-20. Lily Evatt racked up nine saves and Tennessee’s Mariah Skeens collected seven.
Greeneville’s sectional matchup on Saturday will be against Seymour. The contest will be played at Fox Field.
